Iowa Hawkeyes vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/26/2026

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Thursday, March 26, 2026

Venue:  Toyota Center, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  TBS, truTV

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Iowa +1.5, Nebraska -1.5; Over/Under:  132.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Iowa +1.5, Nebraska -1.5; Over/Under:  132.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Iowa +1.5, Nebraska -1.5; Over/Under:  132.5 points

Iowa Hawkeyes:  23-12 (10-10) (9th place, Big Ten)

Nebraska Cornhuskers:  28-6 (15-5) (2nd place, Big Ten)

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Iowa Hawkeyes:  3-2  last 5

Nebraska Cornhuskers:  3-2  last 5

Iowa is entering this game with a 23-12 record overall, a 10-10 record in conference games, and they are 6-1 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Florida Gators in their last game. Tavion Banks led the team in points in that game with 20 while Alvaro Folgueiras was next on the team with 14. Kael Combs led the team in assists with 6 in that game while Tavion Banks led the team in rebounds with 6. They were 51% from the field, 29.2% from 3-point range, and 63.6% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 74.9 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 66 PPG against them. Iowa has an ATS record of 20-15 this season and their O/U record is 19-16.

Nebraska is entering this game with a 28-6 record overall, a 15-5 conference record, and they are 5-1 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Vanderbilt Commodores in their last game. Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager each led the team in points in that game with 15 while Rienk Mast was next on the team with 13. Sam Hoiberg led the team in assists with 6 in that game while Rienk Mast, Pryce Sandfort, and Braden Frager each led the team in rebounds with 5. They were 55.8% from the field, 47.4% from 3-point range, and 70% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 77.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 65.8 PPG against them. Nebraska has an ATS record of 19-14-1 this season and their O/U record is 10-24.

The current betting odds have Nebraska listed as a 1.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Nebraska has looked really good in their games this season with their 28-6 record overall and their 15-5 conference record which had them right near the top of the Big Ten. They have looked great in their neutral site games too with their 5-1 record. Meanwhile, Iowa has looked good in their games this season with their 23-12 record overall, but their 10-10 conference record had them right in the middle of the Big Ten. They have been a great team in their neutral site games though, going 6-1 in those. Nebraska has been a darling all season with some great wins under their belt from the regular season and they almost beat one of the best teams in the nation on the road with a tight loss to Michigan. They have been one of the best teams in the Big Ten all season, even starting the year as one of the last teams to stay undefeated, and they have already made history in this tournament too. They won their first ever NCAA Tournament game against Troy in a blow out and now they are off a win over Vanderbilt in a game which they looked like the better team for most of it. They have a ton of momentum on their side now and they aren't really playing with any pressure either. Iowa has been a solid team all season and they are off a huge upset win over the defending national champions Florida, but they are due for a let down after that tight win. That is going to be a tough game for them to follow up now and they did have a lot of trouble in the Big Ten this season, only going .500 in the league. Nebraska is starting to roll again with that momentum building up and they look nothing like the team that was limping to the end of the regular season. The best way to place a bet here is on Nebraska to cover the spread in this game. 

Iowa Nebraska Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, March 26, 2026 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Nebraska 69 Iowa 64.

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Iowa Hawkeyes: 14-26 ATS as an underdog. 1-7 ATS off an upset win as an underdog. 18-26 ATS versus teams who are called for 17 or less fouls/game. 9-3 OVER when the total is 130 to 139.5. 14-9 OVER revenging a road loss vs opponent.

Nebraska Cornhuskers: 10-1 ATS as a neutral court favorite or pick. 28-18 ATS when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 80%). 28-19 ATS versus very good teams - outscoring their opponents by 8+ points/game. 11-6 OVER versus poor defensive teams - shooting pct defense of 45% or more. 4-1 OVER as a neutral court favorite of 6 points or less or pick.

Iowa Hawkeyes:  P. McCollum (G) Out - Foot.

Nebraska Cornhuskers:  U. Jarusevicius (F) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Essegian (G) Out - Ankle. H. Burt (F) Questionable - Undisclosed.

“Just toughness. Kids that are connected. Kids that want to serve each other. I think we’ve established some of that so far. But we’ve still got a lot to work to do.” - Ben McCollum after his team’s win against Florida in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

“They’ve just done all the little things really well, and to me, it makes our job as coaches a lot easier when you have a group that does all those things. They hold each other accountable. We’ve got great leadership with this group — as good as any that I’ve coached.” - Fred Hoiberg on his team’s upcoming game against Iowa in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. 

T. Banks 

K. Combs 

C. Koch 

C. Manyawu 

B. Stirtz

B. Buyuktuncel 

S. Hoiberg 

J. Lawrence 

R. Mast 

P. Sandfort

PPG: Bennett Stirtz (19.7)

APG: Bennett Stirtz (4.5)

Reb/G: Tavion Banks (4.7)

PPG: Pryce Sandfort (17.9)

APG: Sam Hoiberg (4.4)

Reb/G: Rienk Mast (5.8)

Coaches:

Iowa Hawkeyes: Ben McCollum (1st season)

Nebraska Cornhuskers: Fred Hoiberg (7th season)